Just one day a year, let's not hear it for the boys
Take Our Daughters to Work Day has grown to become futile in two significant ways. The sudden addition of "and Sons" reverses the original concept, and some stay-at-home moms are taking their daughters home.

Let ban go up in smoke
The struggle for and against smoking bans still rages in Arizona. While the proponents of a smoking ban may be well-intentioned, the ramifications of bans can and have lead to businesses' monetary losses.

WEB EXTRA

'Identity' best film of year with shocking twists, actorsIdentity is the best film of 2003. It's a slam-bang horror film, psychological thriller and murder-mystery rolled into one. In the quick 90 minutes it takes to watch this movie, you'll laugh, gasp and scream. When the end credits roll, your mouth will be wide open at the incredibly shocking final twist.

Future of Tempe lies in mixed-use development, infill
Two people showed up at a public review meeting for Tempe's General Plan 2030: one planner and one citizen. The meeting, held at ASU, was one of several to inform the public about an election for the general plan.

Video Game Review: Feel the beat of Sony's Amplitude
Two years after Sony made us all wish we were DJs with Frequency, the company unleashed Amplitude on the music-game playing population last month. This game is far and beyond better than what Frequency ever thought it could be.

Opinion: The NFL draft picks, according to da Zow
As the NFL draft kicks off Saturday, every "expert" has created their own mock draft. It's time for The Zow to reveal his top-ten picks: Tops is USC's Carson Palmer, who agreed to a contract with the Bengals.

Gymnastics: Falls lead to season's end for Sun Devils
The ASU gymnastics team will be returning home earlier than planned after coming in fourth Thursday in Session 1 of the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Coach John Spini said he was let down with the results.

Gymnastics: Kelly makes an all-around hit
What exactly would make a blue chip recruit in college gymnastics? Sun Devils head gymnastics coach John Spini recently landed an athlete, freshman Ashley Kelley, with experience and record scores her resume.

Regents convene at UA to discuss ASU changes
A list of approved items by the Arizona Board of Regents. The 12-member governing body of Arizona's public universities met yesterday and reconvened today in Tucson at the UA campus.

Tempe is finalist to host 2004 presidential debate
Tempe's bid to host a 2004 U.S. presidential candidate debate at ASU's Gammage Auditorium has been officially selected. Tempe is one of 14 cities that have made it to the final round of host city hopefuls.

James-Hardeman, 26, lived with in Phoenix with her husband, Travis Hardeman, and six kids. She was studying administration of justice, working two part-time jobs and caring for her family.

Tempe homeless to be recounted
The city of Tempe needs to recount the homeless population, said Theresa James, Tempe's homeless coordinator, during a city council meeting Thursday.

The city counted the number of homeless people as 169 in Tempe on Feb. 27, though James said that figure is likely an underestimation because the weather on the day of the census was poor.

Keeping an eye on cheaters
Cheating makes junior Rob Gresser angry. Gresser's frustration with academic fraud and the current Academic Integrity Policy, which he believes is too lenient, motivated him to develop his own cheating policy.

After hearing scores of student complaints and comparing the Student Recreation Complex's facilities with those of other universities, the SRC and ASASU are considering expanding or renovating the center within the next year or two.

BEYOND TEMPE

Combat engineer wants his 10 bass-playing fingers
CAMP CHESTY, central Iraq - Sgt. Brian Dollinger wants to be home in Morton, Ill., by May 30, when his daughter, Arianna, turns 3. Dollinger, 30, is a combat engineer with 6th Engineer Support Battalion, and his commanders aren't as optimistic about when they'll be back in the United States. They are hoping to get back by October, but even that date changes constantly. Dollinger, a Marine Reserve, is a doctoral student in music at Ball State University. His specialty is conducting orchestras and playing the bass.

Iraqi deputy prime minister surrenders to United States
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Tariq Aziz, perhaps the best-known Iraqi official after Saddam Hussein, has surrendered to U.S. authorities in Baghdad, U.S. Central Command confirmed late Thursday. Military officials would not give any details on the surrender or capture of the former Iraqi deputy prime minister, No. 43, the eight of spades, on the U.S. military's 55 most-wanted list.

Reality vs. reality
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I used to watch The Real World. I blame it on adolescence and ignorance of decent television. I wanted to be these people who lived in fancy houses and did adventurous things. It was a cool show.

This was also before the wave of reality TV shows, so I hadn't been bogged down with this type of entertainment. American Idol, Joe Millionaire, Bachlorette, and the newest one to hit network television, Mr. Personality were only a twinkle in NBC and FOX producers' eyes when MTV introduced reality TV to me.

Rewriting history
The year is 1903. A teenage Mexican boy faces a daunting life decision: Stay in Mexico and endure an uncertain future bursting with economic struggles, or leave his country, his family, his culture and perhaps even his identity and migrate to the United States.

His is a decision hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens have faced for more than 100 years. While much of America's late-1800s and early-1900s migration history is dominated by stories of European immigrants and Ellis Island, Theresa Chavez and a host of other artists want to tell another side of the massive migration to America: the Latino side.

Meant for Musicians
Some say rock 'n' roll is dead. Others throw the whole local Tempe music scene in a box, bury it in sand and throw poppies on its grave. Though a few recent Valley nightclub failures are discouraging, there are some people who aren't giving up so easily.

In late January, Lori Grimwood and Stephan Germanaud opened the Scottsdale restaurant, bar, and rock music venue Static, at 7373 Scottsdale Mall. With her background in bartending, Grimwood says she wanted to give locals a comfortable hangout where they could hear music not prevalent in the current Valley scene.

Four guys and a girl
Saddle Creek Records is the kind of label every town wishes it had. It's small, the bands have unlimited freedom to put out whatever they want, and the 12 signed acts have a devoted following in the area.

Before 1993, Saddle Creek Records was just an idea in Rob Nansel's head. Today, the Omaha, Neb.-based indie-rock label [which only signs "people they know" according to Nansel on the Saddle Creek Web site] has taken Nebraska's thriving local scene to a new level and taken rockers Cursive along for the ride.

Confidence interval
Edward Burns has a lot of confidence that his new movie will entertain the hell out of audiences.

Burns, who was in town recently screening Confidence at the Phoenix Film Festival, alternates between writing and directing his own movies [The Brothers McMullen, She's the One] and acting in other directors' movies [Saving Private Ryan, Life or Something Like it]. For Confidence [directed by James Foley] Burns is on board as an actor only, but declares that making the movie was his most enjoyable professional experience to date and is thrilled by how good it is.

Helping Einstein: SOS art show at Einstein's Brothers
Once upon a time, [in 2002] the Einstein Brother's Bagels in the Memorial Union was an art gallery. The same space where students flock daily for their noon carbohydrates rush was once a quiet hamlet of paintings, sculpture, and sometimes a little decent piano music. As someone who spent a lot of time hanging out in the old gallery, Daniel Braha, was taken by surprise the first time he saw the change.

Prescribing percussion
The cowbell is one of the many percussion instruments that the ASU music performance senior has mastered during his four years in the program. For two years he was the drum set player for the Charles River Project, a band that played a lot around the ASU community. The band dissolved over time, but Gerwitz says he still meets people every once in a while who remember him from the performances.

Gerwitz has also been a member of the ASU Pan Devils for two and a half years, a steel pan band that represents ASU at various concerts around Arizona. Next Friday the Pan Devils will perform at ASU's Katzin Concert Hall.

Last Friday Gerwitz patiently explained to SPM the difference between a percussionist and a drummer, the humor behind cowbells, and the beauty of the Babaloo.